Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- Part I: Civil Law: Contracts, Torts, Inheritance, and Bequests -- Chapter 1 Biblical Contract Law and Biblical Tort Law -- A. Biblical Contract Laws -- B. Biblical Tort Laws and Remedies -- C. Biblical Contract and Tort Law, and Modern Counterparts -- Chapter 2 Transfer of Property by Inheritance and Bequest -- A. Property Subject to Transfer by Inheritance or Bequest -- B. Inheritance: Descent of Property through Intestate Succession -- C. Wills or Bequests and Inter-vivos Gifts -- D. Conclusions -- Part II: Criminal Law -- Chapter 3 Biblical Trial Scenes -- A. Genesis 38:24-26: Tamar's Evidence -- B. 2 Samuel 12:1-15: David as Judge and Nathan's Parable -- C. 2 Samuel 14:1-11: A Hypothetical Case Prompts Mitigation and Alternative Sentencing -- D. 1 Kings 3:16-28: A Maternity Suit -- E. 1 Kings 21:1-16: A Case of Malicious Prosecution -- F. Jeremiah 26:7-24: Defendant Testimony and Argument from Precedent -- G. Leviticus 24:10-23: A Case of Blasphemy -- H. Numbers 15:32-36: A Case of Possible Sabbath Violation -- I. Susanna vv. 28-62: Cross Examination Catches the Culprits in the Courtroom -- Chapter 4 Impartial Judgment and Equal Protection of the Laws -- A. Impartial Judgment -- B. Equal Protection: Protected Classes -- Chapter 5 Capital Offenses -- A. Against Capital Punishment -- B. Capital Offenses and Rationales for Executing Offenders -- Chapter 6 Due Process Protections -- A. Places or Cities of Refuge: Interim Protection for Offenders Awaiting Trial -- B. "Diligent Inquiry": Investigation, Hearings, Evidence, and Cross Examination -- C. Witnesses -- D. The Punishment Phase: Sentencing Guidelines -- Chapter 7 Criminal Law in the Bible and Contemporary Application -- A. Modern Interpretation of Biblical Texts -- B. The Basic Value of Human Life.

C. The Critical Importance of Not Executing Innocent Persons -- Part III: Social Legislation -- Chapter 8 Biblical Social Welfare Legislation -- A. Protections against Injustice and Mistreatment -- B. Laws Calling for Affirmative Actions by Private Persons -- Chapter 9 Biblical Social Welfare Laws and Modern Social Welfare Policy -- Concluding Observations -- Index of Biblical Quotations and Citations -- Index of Names -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z -- Index of Subjects -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.

The theory and praxis of biblical law in the historical and contemporary landscape of American law and culture is contentious and controversial. Richard Hiers provides a new consideration of the subject with an emphasis upon the underlying justice and compassion implicit within. Special consideration is given to matters of civil law, the death penalty, and due process. An analysis of various biblical trial scenes are also included. The book draws on, and in turn relates to three areas of scholarship and concern: biblical studies, social ethics, and jurisprudence (legal theory). Modern legal categories often illuminate the nature of biblical law: for instance, by distinguishing between inheritance and bequests or wills (a distinction not found in traditional biblical commentaries), and by identifying the meaning or function of biblical laws by using such categories as "contract" and "tort" law, "due process," "equal protection," and "social welfare legislation." Several discussions throughout the book compare or contrast biblical laws with modern Anglo-American law or social policies. Each chapter begins with two or three relevant quotations: one or two from biblical texts, and sometimes from one or two relevant latter-day sources, notably, Magna Carta, the United States Constitution, and writings by Ayn Rand, and Robert Bellah. Although modern law usually shows greater compassion, biblical law often combines concern for both justice and compassion in ways that sometime provide grounds for critiquing modern counterparts.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.